New Fairfield residents had heard brothel rumors

Some residents of New Fairfield were shocked to hear that a brothel had been raided in their pleasant, semi-rural town. Others were not.

"I had heard rumors a few months ago from a contractor who works with Hispanics," said a clerk at a New Fairfield shop. "I head there was a house on Barnum with a blue light in the lawn and an American flag. I didn't quite believe it when I first heard about it."

Like several others interviewed, the clerk didn't want his name published in a story about prostitution.

One young New Fairfiield man said he lived within a block of the old Cape-style home that had been raided.

"I used to live on Williams Road," he said. "I moved to Danbury three months ago. I'd heard about it (the brothel). I have friends who are yard workers, and they talked about it. It was mostly Hispanic guys going in. There'd be five or six cars in the driveway at a time."

But for
Erika Gordon
, a 25-year resident of New Fairfield, the news of the raid by New Fairfield, state and federal authorities came as a surprise.

"I'm shocked that could happen in this town," Gordon said. "This is an upper middle-class town. I wouldn't expect to find that here."

An older woman exiting the
Food Center
in New Fairfield on Friday was not nearly as upset.

"I laughed when I read (about the brothel)," she said. "It just goes to show we're a human town."

Perhaps the most poignant comment came from a Danbury resident who said she shops in New Fairfield.

"I live in Danbury, and I wasn't shocked at all. Not at all," the middle aged woman said. "It's just creeping out to this area" from the city. "A lot of crime is creeping out."

New Fairfield First Selectman John Hodge
said Friday that he was aware "something" wrong was going on at the house even before becoming first selectman in November. While Hodge was running for office, residents told him they had suspicions about 19 Barnum Road.

"I'm happy this operation has been closed down," Hodge said. "I feared for the safety of the residents."

Hodge said he had contacted the state and asked "what are we going to do about this?" He said state and federal lawmakers helped him bring the situation to the attention of law enforcement.

Besides prostitution, Hodge heard rumors that other things were going on at the house but he didn't want to elaborate.

Hodge, whose own home is not far from the
Barnum Road house
, said he was concerned about the safety of neighbors and residents. There's a school bus stop near the house and residents walk along the road. He recalls seeing a little girl walking her dog near the house one day.

What particularly irked Hodge was the small American flag that was on a post near the driveway of the house until a couple of weeks ago. "It annoyed me to no end," Hodge said. "It was thumbing a nose at the United States."